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Google Will Kill Its Chrome App Launcher For Windows, Mac, and Linux In July

Posted by timothy on from the wheat-from-chaff dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Google today announced plans to kill off the Chrome app launcher for Windows, Mac, and Linux in July. The tool, which lets users launch Chrome apps even if the browser is not running, will continue to live on in Chrome OS. So why is Google removing the Chrome app launcher from Chrome? Well, it turns out Google has finally figured out what everyone all already knew: "we've found that users on Windows, Mac, and Linux prefer to launch their apps from within Chrome."

5 of 77 comments (clear)

  1. I think I can speak for most people... by BaronM · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...when I say "Wait; you're killing what?"

  2. Good by pushing-robot · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Why, exactly, do developers decide the native OS methods for finding and starting apps are insufficient and must be replaced with some ill-conceived launcher app? Google is far from the only offender here.

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    How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
  3. No by DivineKnight · · Score: 4, Insightful

    People want you to bring back GTalk. And quit bundling your stuff so closely with Chrome. And then fire your Market research group...they appear to be drawn from the same people who thought Windows Vista was a winner.

  4. Hell No! by ipb · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Linux users do NOT want to launch everything from a browser.
    Ditch the stand alone launcher and the need for the browser.

    I want standalone programs for hangouts and chromecasting and that is all.
    I already don't like the overhead of chrome and it's crappy interface and I'm getting
    fed-up with the crashes and arbitrary chrome and hangout resets when I do leave them running.

    Make good programs, not crappy do everything browsers.

  5. Re: well that is a bummer by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 3, Insightful

    >The downside with it was that it wasn't obvious how to install it

    Really? The RPM always auto-installed it for me. The biggest problem I saw was users would look for Chrome under 'Chrome Apps' and it's under 'Internet' in the standard FreeDesktop grouping.

    Google should really be working on a way to handle this transparently so Hangouts, e.g., can stand alone under 'Internet'.

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